Balkans
'The Name of the Game is Oil'

“How much should we spend on the armed services? ... My view is we don’t spend on you, we invest in you.
The men and women in the armed services are not a drain on our economic strength. Indeed you safeguard it.
You’re not a burden on our economy, you are the critical foundation for growth.”
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
addressing US troops at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo, 5 June 2001
US Defense Department Press Release

Location of Camp Bondsteel (left); Balkans pipeline corridors, proposed and existing (right) - source: "Former Yugoslavia: The name of the game is OIL!"

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"Today, the circumstances which we have created here have changed. Today, it is absolutely necessary to guarantee the stability of Macedonia and its entry into NATO. But we will certainly remain here a long time so that we can also guarantee the security of the energy corridors which traverse this country."
General Michael Jackson, commander of KFOR in Macedonia
Italian daily, Sole 24 Ore, 13 April 1999